Chapter 66

<66. Gray Market (2)>

"Gray Market?"

"Yeah. Do you remember when I mentioned that I didn't know about the Black Market last time?"

After pouring a drink, Forest handed one to Oliver and asked.

"Yes... But you said you knew something similar."

"You have a good memory. The Gray Market is exactly that similar thing. Strictly speaking, it's more like a branch that sprouted from the Black Market."

"Branch?"

"Yeah, I understand your confusion. It's a relatively recent development. It's a product of a certain business strategy."

Forest continued to explain, and from his manner of speaking, it was clear he knew a lot.

"The Gray Market sells items that are minor or of lower grade from the items distributed in the Black Market. Someone arbitrarily called it the Gray Market, and now that's its official name."

Oliver took a sip of the drink Forest had given him and then asked after a moment of thought.

"What exactly do you mean by lower-grade items?"

"Small stolen goods, relatively low-grade information, drugs, moonshine, magic items, and human emotions and life force. Some black magic books are also traded."

At that moment, Oliver felt intrigued.

"Black magic books?"

"Yeah, but they're not that impressive. The books they sell are just basic ones."

Although it was a letdown, Oliver didn't show any disappointment.

On the contrary, he was excited. Even though he didn't get a satisfactory result immediately, he could take the first step.

This process itself was a great joy.

"...Is it okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. ... By the way, are there places that deal with higher-grade items?"

"Of course. The Black Market and Gray Market are just convenient categories. There are also invisible grades that are more细分. Places that deal with higher-grade items definitely exist. However, the problem is that they are not easy to find. Security is much tighter than you might think."

"How can I access a higher-grade market?"

"You need to spend a significant amount of money to get an invitation, or you need to befriend a big shot with connections to the Black Market, like someone from the Crime Firm. They are the most reliable."

"Is it because the Crime Firm manages the Black Market?"

At Oliver's question, Forest hesitated for a moment.

"....Half right, half wrong."

"...?"

"The Crime Firm is deeply involved with the Black Market, but they don't manage everything. The Black Market exists in a more abstract and complex way, like a cluster rather than a single entity. That's why it's not easy to fully grasp it... and it's also dangerous."

Oliver observed Forest's emotions.

Regardless of the truth of the story, Forest's emotions were genuine.

It was surprising. Despite claiming to know little when they first met, Forest knew more than expected.

It went beyond just hearing things.

"I see."

"Yeah, anyway, let's get back to the main topic. The place I introduced you to isn't bad for a first visit. The quality of the items might be a bit lower, but it's not very dangerous. You can also replenish your emotions."

With that, Forest handed over a piece of paper with a rough map and a peculiar business card.

The business card had Forest's F signature drawn on it.

"Here's a map with the location and a ticket to get in. Burn the map after using it once. If it leaks, your credibility will drop."

Oliver nodded and put the paper and business card in his pocket.

"Thank you for the gift."

"Don't mention it. I can introduce you because you did a good job. I hope you like it."

"Yes, I already do. ... Then, can I speak now?"

"Oh, you had a question. What is it?"

"Before I took the mission, you promised to briefly explain how you gather information when I return successfully. Can I hear it now?"

"Oh... right. I did promise that, didn't I? Sure, it's not that impressive."

"Thank you."

Before speaking, Forest refilled his glass and Oliver's.

"Hmm... There are many ways to gather information, and it's surprisingly easy."

"Oh, really?"

"Think of it as rolling a snowball. Once you have a certain amount of information, you can roll it. Then the information gathers on its own... In my case, it started with the Broker's Guild."

"The Broker's Guild?"

"Yeah, given the nature of this job, everyone is very interested in information. Rapidly changing situations, incidents, new figures, and so on. So, brokers within the same guild share information to a certain extent."

"Just share it?"

"Only to a certain extent. More secret and detailed information is traded individually, with money or information. Or they form connections among themselves."

"Hmm... So, do you get all your information through the Broker's Guild?"

"No, they are partners but also competitors. Relying solely on them would make you fall behind. Everyone has their own information lines. In my case, I use solvers and information merchants."

"Information merchants? ... Do you mean Coco?"

"Oh, right. You said you met her."

"Yes, on my way here yesterday."

"She's one of the information merchants I trade with. If she has a story to sell, she comes to me, or I go to her for a request."

Oliver nodded, feeling intrigued like a child listening to a story.

"Then... do you only get information from the Broker's Guild, solvers, and information merchants?"

Oliver asked, looking at Forest and observing his emotions.

"...No. There's another line I don't use often."

"Oh, where?"

"It's called Heimdall."

"Heimdall?"

"Yeah, a group of magic hackers who deal with the World Tree."

"World Tree...? Magic hackers...?"

As Oliver murmured with new questions, Forest chuckled.

"Looks like you don't know. Well, not many people do. Underground black magic practitioners, especially, wouldn't know."

"...Can you tell me?"

Forest checked his watch.

"Hmm... Sorry, can we do this later? I have a guest coming soon."

"Oh..."

Oliver sighed in disappointment.

He checked his own watch and realized a considerable amount of time had passed.

Although he was disappointed, Oliver nodded willingly.

He had already heard many interesting stories, so it would be inappropriate to bother further.

"I understand."

"I'm sorry. I'll answer the rest when I have time."

"No, I've received a lot of help... Oh!"

Oliver stopped preparing to leave and started searching his pocket.

"What are you doing?"

"Just a moment. I have something to give you. I don't know if it will be helpful to Mr. Forest."

With that, Oliver took out a potion and some ledgers and documents he had obtained from the magic brewery.

Forest showed interest.

"What is this...?"

"I found it at the magic brewery. I don't know much about it, but I thought it might be useful."

At this, Forest examined the ledgers and documents more closely. His eyes sparkled with joy and excitement, especially when he saw the potion.

"...Did you really get this from the magic brewery?"

"Yes, I just picked it up because it was there. I don't know if it's genuine."

"That's... I thought it was a day to give gifts, but it turned out to be a day to receive them."

"I'm glad you're happy."

"Thank you very much. Are you coming back tomorrow?"

After a moment's thought, Oliver shook his head.

"No, since Mr. Forest introduced me to a good place, I think I'll go there tomorrow."

"That's good. See you later."

With that, Oliver shook hands with Forest and left.

When he stepped out onto the street, he looked at the map Forest had given him again.

The map showed a traditional market in the T district.

It was a bit surprising that the Gray Market was in a traditional market.

Well, that wasn't the most important thing. What mattered was that he had successfully completed his mission and could now visit the Gray Market, a branch of the Black Market.

Although he wanted to go immediately, he decided to rest for the night after feeling tired from working all night.

To think such luck would come so soon... He was really looking forward to the next day.

***

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

A phrase from Joseph's diary.

It was written when the pharmacist's intervention prevented the complete conquest of Wainham, and he had to share it with the Dominic and Anthony families.

At the time, Oliver could only understand the meaning of the phrase but couldn't empathize with it.

Now, after leaving the family for a long time, he could finally empathize with it.

He felt sorry for Forest, who had gone to great lengths to help him, but the Gray Market he introduced disappointed Oliver greatly... or perhaps Oliver had set his expectations too high.

While giving the business card to the fruit vendor disguised as a doorman in the complex traditional market in the T district, his heart raced with anticipation, but once he entered, the anticipation quickly turned to disappointment.

How to put it... It was too ordinary?

The Gray Market, secretly set up inside the traditional market, was too similar to the outside market.

To be precise, it was just the same.

Piles of fruit on stalls, meat hanging in butcher shops, carts loaded with strange herbs.

Well, that wasn't a big problem. Traditional markets were interesting in their own way, with bargaining and customer attraction.

However, the items for sale did not meet Oliver's expectations.

As Forest had said, young and old men who looked like black magic practitioners were selling extracted emotions and life forces from small stalls, but the quality was very poor.

It was as if they had been squeezed out by force.

The black magic items, such as the glutton's pouch, leather mask, eye of the watcher, and virility potion, were also of poor quality.

Compared to what he had seen in Joseph's family or the dollmaker Grep's workshop, they were very crude.

Some of them he had never made before, but if Oliver were asked to make them, he could probably do a better job.

Well, in a way, it was natural. The items in this market were only suitable for third-rate petty thieves.

Oliver had set his expectations too high, thinking the Gray Market was connected to the Black Market.

It was just a branch, after all.

Still, Oliver decided to buy a few items for experience.

It would be a waste to leave without buying anything.

He bought one each of the extracted emotions and life forces and one each of the black magic items to examine.

Leather mask, glutton's pouch, eye of the watcher, and so on.

He already had similar items, but they were well-made and too valuable to use for experiments, so he decided to buy these for research.

Thinking about it, he felt it was for the best. These items wouldn't be too disappointing if they were damaged during examination.

After putting the emotions and black magic items in his bag, Oliver decided to spend the rest of his time exploring the Gray Market.

Although there was nothing particularly interesting, he wanted to be prepared for the next time he visited another Gray Market or the Black Market.

As he went deeper, he saw some unusual things.

An old, worn-out clock, a strangely preserved animal, a potion made from a beast's life force, cheap figurines, and even a bookshop.

The books were not about black magic or demons but contained only pictures of naked women.

Anyway, while exploring the Gray Market, Oliver bought an additional leather strap and case to store test tubes and then left the Gray Market.

Although his journey after leaving the family had been tiring, he had never felt bored or disappointed until now.

Feeling his energy drained, Oliver headed back to his lodging.

Just as he was about to lose all his energy, he felt something.

In a moment that seemed to be split into hundreds of seconds, he definitely felt something.

A pure and powerful magic, similar to but incomparably stronger than the lightning mage he had met in the past.

It was definitely not a hallucination. When he turned his gaze, he saw an old man sitting there.

"Hello, young friend... Are you here to look at books?"